Writer calls Dan Bailey's new deal 'Worst Contract of the Year'

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Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey (5) successfully kicks a field goal in a game against the Oakland Raiders during the first half of play at a preseason game in O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California on August 10, 2013.

Bailey, who received a seven-year, $22.5 million deal, was a bright spot for Dallas in its third straight 8-8 season.

But let's just say Grantland's NFL writer Bill Barnwell was not so enthusiastic about the deal, calling it the "Worst Contract of the Year."

Here's what Barnwell wrote: This, even for Jerry Jones, is a stunningly dumb move. The Cowboys just handed Bailey a deal that guarantees him $7.5 million and averages $3.2 million per year. They have absolutely no cap flexibility and need to save every penny they can, which would leave kicker - the most fungible position in football and a place where you can find competent guys as undrafted free agents every single year like, not coincidentally, Dan Bailey - as an obvious place to try to save money.

There’s nothing wrong with Bailey — he’s a fine kicker. Football Outsiders suggests that he’s been worth 16.5 points over average on field goals over the past three years, even while he’s been almost exactly league-average on kickoffs. And yes, some of the length of the deal is to pad out the money involved and spread the signing bonus over a longer period. When you’re doing that to create the cap space needed to lock up a kicker, you’re probably doing something stupid.